EVALUATION OF SERUM PROLACTIN LEVELS IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED EPITHELIAL OVARIAN CANCER

Chaza Haroun*, Muhammed Imad Khayat and Firas Hussein

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Ovarian cancer (OC) ranks eighth in cancer deaths among women, representing more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. The high mortality rate is due to the difficulty of diagnosis and delayed detection of the disease until late stages, making the search for an effective strategy for early detection an urgent necessity. Many recent studies have shown that prolactin (PRL) has a greater role than previously thought in the pathological mechanisms of ovarian cancer development. Therefore, high PRL levels has been highlighted as a potential risk factor for the incidence of OC. Due to the low sensitivity of CA-125 at early stages of OC, several panels have been proposed to improve diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and PRL was one of the most prominent of these chemical tests. This study aimed to evaluate serum PRL levels in patients newly diagnosed with OC and in first-degree female relatives, and to study the relationship between PRL and the tumor stage and histological type. Materials and Methods: This is a case-control study of 47 female patients attending the Department of Gynecology and Oncology at Tishreen University Hospital in Lattakia in the period between 2022-2024, in addition to 22 first-degree female relatives and 30 healthy controls. PRL was measured by enzymometric immunoassay and patient demographic data were recorded. Results: The average age of patients was 56 years and more than half were nulliparous. The mean PRL value for patients was 32.18 ng/ml, while for controls it was 11.88 ng/ml (p < 0.001), while it was 17.6 ng/ml, (p= 0.007) in female relatives group. PRL values were high in 64% of patients, indicating a lower sensitivity than CA-125, but it showed good sensitivity in early stage patients compared to CA-125. All patients had epithelial ovarian cancer, and there was no association between PRL levels and the histological type. The majority of patients were diagnosed at stages III and IV, and there was no correlation between PRL levels and tumor stage. Conclusion: Serum PRL levels are higher in OC patients and in female relatives. This confirms the association between PRL and development of OC and indicates that this increase is a predisposing factor for tumor growth and not due to the tumor itself, which suggests measuring PRL levels in high-risk patients.

Keywords: Ovarian cancer (OC)- prolactin (PRL)– CA-125- epithelial ovarian cancer.